Rinzler is Clu's primary enforcer. He is an exceptionally skilled warrior and is the elite combatant in all games in the Grid. In addition, he is the only known program to use two identity discs in battle. Originally known as Tron, Rinzler's identity came into being when Tron was supposedly "killed" by Clu.

In TRON: Uprising, Tron was forced to adopt the name and appearance of Rinzler after his battle with Clu, using the disguise to avoid capture as most programs believed that he was dead.

Biography

Rinzler appeared as the final opponent of the Disc Wars, where he identified Sam as a user after seeing him bleed, and brought him before Clu. He was later summoned when Quorra interrupted the light cycle duel, but was unable to prevent her from rescuing Sam. Despite the setback, he continued to assist Clu, acting as a personal enforcer.

On Clu's Carrier Ship, Kevin, Sam, and Quorra noticed Rinzler patrolling the area, and Kevin immediately recognized him as Tron, the former System Monitor program of the Tron system. Quorra allowed herself to be captured by Rinzler in order to lead him away from Kevin and Sam. Rinzler took her to Clu for interrogation, before being charged with escorting her back to Clu's Command Ship. Once there, Rinzler interrupted Sam who had been in the process of liberating his father's identity disc. He pushed Quorra away to engage Sam in a disc fight, but this battle was cut short when he evaded two thrown discs only to be kicked off a nearby ledge by Quorra, lying forgotten at his feet.

Rinzler was left dangling only briefly and promptly vaulted back into the ship as Sam and Quorra made their escape. Clu then arrived with four Black Guards in tow, and together with Rinzler set out in pursuit of the fugitives, following their captured Light Jet with smaller Light Jets of their own. In the ensuing fight, Rinzler and Kevin Flynn made eye contact. From that point on, Rinzler began to experience flashbacks of when he had once saved Kevin, and was able to overcome Clu's reprogramming, eventually overriding it altogether.

Once freed of Clu's control, he deliberately crashed his Light Jet into Clu's, derezzing both craft and allowing the three heroes a chance to escape. Clu and Rinzler scuffled briefly as they fell, but Clu grappled Rinzler's spare baton away, created a new Light Jet for himself, and left Rinzler to plummet into the Sea of Simulation below.

Rinzler's circuitry flickered and died after he plunged into the sea. Then it relit in Tron's earlier white glow as he sank out of view.

Spoilers end here.

Features

Rinzler has a jet-black helmet and red-orange circuitry similar to the Black Guards, although these splashes of color are far more limited on Rinzler than on other programs. Four squares make a 'T' shape on his chest, hinting at his true previous identity of Tron. His Identity Disc is a fusion of two discs that separate to form a matched pair when he needs to fight, a second disc having been acquired in 1989, prior to Tron's corruption. Rinzler often communicates his aggression in an electronically distorted growl, but otherwise has little use for vocal communication.

Trivia

The t-shaped series of dots on Rinzler's chest near the collar of his suit match the ones on Tron in TRON.

Rinzler has traits that echo Tron-creator Steven Lisberger's original conception of the Tron character, which his studio created in the 1970s as a backlight animation test, depicts an orange gladiator who throws two discs that boomerang back to him.

Rinzler was named after Lucasfilm Executive Editor J.W. Rinzler, who authored books such as "The Making of Star Wars" and "The Complete Making of Indiana Jones." Joseph Kosinski officially acknowledged this link.